2010 Goals: Progress Report

We’re a little past the halfway point of 2010, so I thought it would be a good idea to review the progress so far towards my personal goals for the year. It is an axiom of management that you don’t get what you want, you get what you measure. This is as true in one’s personal life as it is in business.

Goal: Run 50 kilometers of road races.
Status: Complete.
A heavy race schedule in March, April, and May, including one 10K, let me complete this goal by early in June. No races are set for the hot part of the summer, but they will pick up again in September/October time frame. I clearly low-balled this goal. Next year I may have to commit to a half marathon.

Goal: Complete three authors from The New Lifetime Reading Plan.
Status: Complete.
I tackled the English Lake District poets first: Wordsworth and Coleridge. Then I jumped forward forty years and read selected works from the American essayist and philosopher Emerson. Having plucked the low hanging fruit, I have started in on The Story of the Stone, a massive Chinese novel of the late Ming period. At 2500 pages in four volumes, this will keep me occupied until the end of the year. If I get through that this year, next year I may decide to take on Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past, all seven volumes of it.

Goal: Entertain at home 12 times throughout the year.
Status: Ahead of schedule.
Man does not live by money alone. A recent study showed that people who had a bigger network of friends tended to live longer. Within my experience, I would argue that they also live better. We are social animals, happiest in a group setting. So far this year we have entertained at home eight times. These have ranged from intimate dinners with another couple to outdoor barbeques with 30+ attendees. Party on, dude!

Goal: Save 20% of earned income.
Status: On-track.
Due to a larger than expected income tax refund, I was able to fund my Roth IRA with the equivalent of 5% of estimated earnings in the first quarter of the year. Between my contribution to the company 401K and the corporate match, another 15% is being added to my retirement funds. Now if only the stock market would recover and start growing again.

Goal: Reduce total debt to less than $60 K.
Status: Ahead of schedule.
Including the payments made at the end of July, I am now down to $62 K in debt from mortgage, car loan, and line of credit. I am paying down principle at the rate of $800 per month, including tripling the equity payment on the monthly mortgage. Debt reduction and savings rate are linked. I could apply a higher percentage to savings, and slow down on debt reduction. But I get a guaranteed 6.5% return on capital by drawing down my mortgage faster, and in today’s market that looks pretty good.

Goal: Earn $2000 at H & R Block.
Status: Failure.
I only made about $1000 during tax season this year. Including the training hours I put in, my hourly rate was very little better than minimum wage. After peak season was over, walk in traffic dropped down to zero, and I dropped my hours down to zero. No point in coming in just to sit in the office. I need to take certification tests to increase my compensation rate, but even then I don’t see myself hitting this goal next year. On the other hand, doing taxes does provide good blog fodder, so I’ll give it at least one more year.

Goal: Take 9 credit hours of graduate level accounting classes.
Status: On track.
My original plan was to take one class (3 credit hours) in Spring, Summer, and Fall semesters. After completing one class in Spring semester, I wasn’t able to find a summer class that fit my schedule. So I have doubled up, and am signed up for two classes starting in September. This is about half a standard academic load, and is more than I have ever taken since I started working. So we’ll see how this goes in the fall.

Goal: 60+ blog posts.
Status: On track.
Seven months into 2010, and I have kept my average of 5 posts a month. I need to focus on posting at least once a month for the balance of the year.

It is easy to focus on goals, and lose sight of the reality that the milestones and measurements are intended to represent. So, to put this progress report into a different perspective: I am healthy and fit, and enjoying time with a wide circle of friends and family. I am continuing to grow both intellectually and professionally, while storing up resources against the vicissitudes that inevitably come to everyone. Life is good!